


song of solace

by meowcosm



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Discussions of death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, Mentioned violence, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:20:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25272292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meowcosm/pseuds/meowcosm
Summary: Hapi finds Constance grieving.
Relationships: Hapi/Constance von Nuvelle
Comments: 1
Kudos: 32





	song of solace

**Author's Note:**

> ...yeah this is late for hapistance week
> 
> i love them so much bro

It had been late, but not yet night. Somewhere close to twilight; the earliest Constance could emerge outdoors in good spirits. The latest Hapi ever went to rest, too. Scattered light still marked the ground in parts, but the moon was fast emerging, high in a sky of deepening blue. Too cold, and too dark, for Hapi’s liking. 

She’d stayed, though. Constance hadn’t acknowledged her, not then. But it was unlike Constance to stoop low to the ground, or to fashion things from the earth with her two hands. Her strange behaviour had been enough for Hapi to worry, but more concerning were the slight sobs which wracked her friend’s body, only audible at such a close distance. 

It would be rude, Hapi knew, to be so oblique with her concern that she would tap Constance on the shoulder. Still, Constance was so obviously already troubled- it was hardly as if she could make a valid complaint against her intrusion. If she wished not to talk of her troubles, then Hapi would simply inquire about the ephemeral little mound, and bother her not for the rest of the night.

Gently, Hapi poked a single finger into the fleshy space beneath Constance’s shoulder bone. A slight gesture, it nonetheless brought a stop to the weak trembles running through Constance’s body as she wept, stilling her. 

“What’s with that little pile you’re making?” 

It was probably best, Hapi concluded, to not start with a question about the source of Constance’s upset. It would make her defensive, and from there it would be hard to win her over. Plus; it wasn’t as if she lacked curiousity as to its purpose.

At the sound of Hapi’s voice, Constance put a forceful stop to her weeping. It finished with a few strangled sniffles, endearing in their sincerity. 

“It’s a memorial.” Despite the evident upset in Constance’s voice, the statement was straightforward and unsentimental. “I apologize if it concerns you.”

“No. It’s fine.” 

The obvious question lingered at the back of Hapi’s tongue-  _ a memorial for who, and why _ . She didn’t speak it, though, instead choosing to slip her hand over Constance’s shoulder, some shaky attempt at providing comfort. 

“It’s cold.” Truthfully, Hapi knew that Constance could handle it. It was nearly the peak of summer, and Constance had long acclimated to the sun-starved chill of the night. She lets the intention of her words go unspoken, hidden between the lines.

_ You should come inside. _

It hurt, slightly, for Constance to shake her head, stubborn and proud even with her voice catching once more in her throat. 

“I’m performing a vigil. There are some who cannot feel the warmth again, my dear Hapi.”

_ The dead, then _ . A little voice in Hapi’s mind reminded her of Constance’s circumstance, the state in which she arrived in Abyss. Whether her parents had met an untimely end had never been a spoken question, but it had always seemed nought but inevitable, what with her constant speeches on the restoration of the House Nuvelle. 

“Would they want you to be cold?” 

At that, Constance turned around to face Hapi, resting partially on her arm to avoid lifting herself from her knees. Even in the low light Hapi could see with worrying clarity the way her eyes had reddened and swollen with tears, their lines streaked down her face. 

She didn’t answer. Instead, Constance rested her head against Hapi’s lower stomach, clutching onto her like a lifeline. The sudden physical contact alarmed Hapi, at least at first- but Constance’s hair was soft against the loose embrace of her hands, and her body was weak.

In that moment, she wanted to be an anchor as best as she could. 

“I should be amongst them. To be alive- I cannot help but feel guilty.” Constance’s hands dug harder into the fabric of Hapi’s evening-wear, but Hapi didn’t dissuade her, only taking the chance to ghost her own fingers over Constance’s. To feel their softness, their boniness, their trembling weakness. “You must think me silly. To wish to be alongside the dead, when we are fighting each of our days to live on.”

Hapi knew it wasn’t solely an internal struggle Constance referred to. The path of war treats its walkers roughly; the past few months had done much to demonstrate that to the both of them. Various perils had presented themselves; some of which they had both been lucky to emerge from alive. And Hapi has seen Constance fight; dedicated even on her worst days to keeping herself alive throughout the course of battle. 

Still, she understood. Wished to convey that, no matter how ineffective her words might be. To feel both determined to survive and ready to die was not something she was alien to, and the last thing she’d want is to shame Constance for feeling that way.

“You miss them.” Hapi whispered, voice low and gentle. “I don’t blame you.”

That feeling of absence, too, was one that Hapi couldn’t count herself as exempt from. Regardless, it was certainly a sentiment which resonated with Constance, as she clutched the sides of Hapi’s dress even tighter, a fresh sob welling up from her lungs. 

“Yes. I do, my dear Hapi.” Constance went quiet for a moment, breathing inwards. “I miss them very much. And I know that there is nothing I can do to honour that except to memorialize them. Wherever I go.”

There’s no clarification to the nature of  _ them _ ; but from Hapi’s perspective, it’s unnecessary. Their dearness to Constance- that’s what mattered. Still mattered, after all this time.

“They’d be proud of you,” Hapi whispered, “if they knew you were doing your best to stay alive. You’re the best memorial you can make for them.” 

“And if I were to fall…?” Constance inquired, an edge of despair in her voice. The question nearly took Hapi aback in its direness, with Constance’s usual night-time confidence in mind. She could not pretend it was not pertinent, however. The violence that they had witnessed had no exceptions to its wrath, and both had entered into the fray with the knowledge that to die was a lingering potential. 

Yet, there was a power in such an acknowledgement. There was worth in what they did, and should they meet their end in the process, then they would do so in a just fashion. All very knightly- the sort of sentiment which Hapi was inclined to disregard as nothing but romanticism in the face of peril. 

If such thoughts were to give Constance some guidance, however- Hapi could believe in them, if only for a moment. 

“You’ll have fallen for them,” Hapi assured her, “and I’ll make sure that nobody forgets you.”

“You, too, could fall.” Constance stated, matter-of-factly. “Then, the two of us might be lost to history.” 

To that, Hapi wasn’t sure what to say. She knew Constance’s assertion to be true- those who lived long tended to be more easily remembered than those who met an early end. But to agree with her was a facile and unhelpful thing, even if it was the most sincere offering she could provide. She would have to continue to summon reassurance, even if she lacked the notorious charisma better found within someone like Yuri or Dimitri. 

“Perhaps.” It was hard for Hapi to be completely insincere, and she recognized the truth when she saw it. 

Still, it was necessary to provide a cushioning blow. 

“But- we might not be. Long after we’re gone, regardless of why we go, someone might look at all the old junk we’ve left behind and think- these people were important.”

For a moment, Constance’s breath stilled, and Hapi felt confident that she was getting somewhere. 

“Or, they might not. Perhaps we’ll just be bones and dirt. But, in the end, we’ll have done our best.”

Constance chuckled, dark. “Is my  _ best _ sufficient for the House Nuvelle?”

“...I don’t know, Coco.” Hapi conceded. “I don’t even know if I’m doing my best. I know that it could be easy to exploit my stupid curse to overwhelm enemies, but I’m not going to do it. Not unless it’s that or dying- because I want to keep living.”

“...Me too.”

  
“See? That, and I’ve already told you I’m not going to die. But- back to what I was talking about.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t even know where my family is. Where my village is. If they’re alive.” Hapi admitted. “But I’d like to think that if they could see me, they’d be happy with me. 

A soft, pitchy sigh emerged from Constance’s throat, the wind pulling the wistfulness it contained into nothingness.

“I do what I can, after all.”

“You do more than what you can, my dear Hapi.” Constance retorted. “You are an indispensable part of this army- not solely to me, but to everyone. Regardless of whether you use your curse to our advantage.”

At the sudden shift in Constance’s confidence, Hapi fought to repress a chuckle. If it were no good to remind Constance of her own positive traits, Hapi supposed she could settle for letting Constance uphold her virtue so fiercely. 

“Thanks, Coco. But you have to talk to yourself like that, too.”

For the first time in their conversation, Constance turned backwards, and Hapi could see an expression of confusion planted on her face.

  
“I do not have the capability to perform the feats you do, Hapi. So I am not sure what use reassuring myself of such a thing would d-”

“Okay- don’t say those  _ exact _ words to yourself. Say something like, “ _ I cast spells really good _ ”, or “ _ I’m not afraid to go on a pegasus, even though we keep running into archers. Which is very brave of me _ .” Like that.”

Constance’s confusion dissipated, replaced with a pensiveness, a wait for confirmation.

“...Do you truly think those things of me, Hapi?” 

Hapi gave a curt, concise nod.

“Of course. Everyone does.”

“Ah.”

A pause hung between them, Constance’s eyes wide with surprise.

“I am…  _ glad _ , to know that my presence is helpful. I do not wish to be a burden.”

“You’re not. You won’t be. But if you stick around out here, more people are going to come and look for you. So, it’d be best for you to head inside, right?”

That time, it was Constance who nodded, albeit with some hesitancy. Slowly, she took to her feet, with Hapi’s arms wrapping around her wrists as she nearly stumbled on the dark earth beneath her. 

“I’ve got you.”

“Thank you.” The words came out shaky, almost-tearful, against Hapi’s shoulders, the soft cloth of her robes pressed against Constance’s skin as she gathered herself. “I am- sorry, to behave in this fashion. In the darkness, too.”

“It’s fine,” Hapi reassured her, a gentle hand on her shoulder, “you don’t need permission to feel sad. Sometimes, you just feel it.”

Constance nodded, a tender agreement with Hapi’s sentiment. As she came further to, Hapi’s grip on her waist loosened, eventually leaving her to rely on her own two feet. Still, Hapi’s hands hovered around Constance’s waist. Waiting to support her, in case she felt once more incapable of holding herself up.

“You’re going great, Coco.” Hapi whispered, head pressed gently against Constance’s shoulder. 

At the feeling of Hapi’s breath gathering on her shoulder, Constance couldn’t help but chuckle, embracing the sweet comfort of her friend’s proximity. 

“We should go and get dinner.”

“You haven’t eaten?” Constance inquired, quizzical. Both of them knew that Hapi ate earlier than most; she was first at the dining hall, and first to leave. For Constance, it seemed firmly out of character. 

“I was looking for you.” Hapi mumbled. 

A rose-petal blush spread across Constance’s face at the thought of her seeking her out, regardless of the time. Still, if they were to delay a visit to the hall any longer, it would likely do neither of them any good.

“You’ve found me.” murmured Constance, soft. “As an apology, I will take it upon me to escort you to the dining hall.”

A short chuckle escaped Hapi’s throat.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

**Author's Note:**

> ty for reading!
> 
> my twt is meowcosm, i post fe3h and hapistance as regularly as i can!


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